Rising at 7am, we ate our breakfast and then clambered into the van. Reaching the underground river is a two hour drive through the developing island of Palawan. I can't stress how incredible it is to step outside of the cold and quiet hotel lobby into the early morning sun, which by 8am has already heated the road to 30 degrees. Instantly, you start to sweat, and the scents of the mangroves and road side pollution fill your senses. You then walk past all of the petty cabs who all sing-out for business. Offering to take you to see the town, each one undercuts the next, offering cheaper rates and better attractions.

Inside the heavily tinted van, we pull out onto the bumpy road where traffic travels like most traffic in the Philippines, as a chaotic race of wheels. There are road rules; but, they're not enforced and it's not uncommon to end up driving into oncoming traffic. You driver pulls back into the right lane at the last second in a gut wrenching game chicken. The drivers of all of the cars also have a challenging love for their horns and communicate constantly, one honk for hello get out of the way, two honks to say we're behind you get out of the way and three honks to say we're passing get out of the way. Outside the scenery changes: from houses built by hand from aluminium and straw, to old elegant Spanish estates, and then into sprawling tall stone churches. Eventually though after leaving the towns the views change between farmers either walking or riding buffalo towed carts, filled with backdrops of the tropical bush land, or rice paddies. As we drove on through the shakily cut roads, etched into the country side, the lofty and distant mountains draw ever closer.

We arrive at a sea side village, and part with the van while or guide makes arrangements for our boat ride. The biggest trick I've learnt is that you have to pay someone to book for you. The locals are extremely racist and as soon as they know you're white you pay rates that are 6 times more than the locals. We then went to the jetty and found our boat. The underground river is hidden away in a bay inaccessible to cars and so we had to skip across on a boat between the bays. It's a stunning thing to ride by boat, and hop between the bays (it's like you're in a movie). After a short 20 minute ride, we finally rounded a bend to enter the bay like pirates, except there were something like 20 other boats already anchored up. The funny thing is that the boatmen will drop you off, then anchor off the coast and swim back to shore, so it ended up like a ghost bay floating through a ship graveyard with no-one there. We docked and swam through the final bit of surf before clambering onto the beach where the locals greet you with cameras (it's successful business for them to take your pictures and then sell them to you before you leave). We looked around a bit while we dried off and were able to see some large monitors and monkeys. Fortunately, we were warned to keep our belongings close. We had a laugh at the expense of a Korean tourist who had taken a nap at the picnic tables and had monkeys trying to pick pocket him. After trekking inland for another few minutes, you eventually come upon the green river that leads into the underground labyrinths.

Around the cave entry are vines and mangroves that certainly set the scene as a cave of hidden treasures. While waiting for our tour boat of the underground river, we met a photographer from National Geographic named Jacob and chatted for a while. He explained that he was spending a month traveling to all parts on the island and that he loved the country and people immensely. We then parted ways to begin our tour. Like most tours in the Philippines, your fun is heightened by the tour guides wit. And our boatman didn't disappoint, pointing out all of the formations and joking with all over the guests in both English and Tagalog. Whenever a tourist lost their helmet, he would yell out "What the hell man?", which encouraged giggles from the rest of the crew. When we got back from the caves, we had another round of picture taking before finally starting the journey home.

The food along the way was just as spectacular, from home made Philippines lunches and dinners to exotic specialities like Crocodile. My favourite was on the second day in Palawan when we went island hopping. At lunch, we were served fresh seafood from the islands all BBQ'd in front of us, including crab, shrimp and fish.

As part of my current interests, I've been asking mturk workers to write stories as part of content generation. For the content below I spent about an hour of my own time and paid about $3 for the base content.  

I had an antique mirror expertly packed and shipped. When it was received, I could hear glass shards moving. On opening the package, I found that the mirror was utterly broken. Although it was insured and I was eventually paid for it, which took a great deal of time, I would have preferred the mirror.

The Post office at Christmas time… only one word describes it. "HELL"!!! Three trips to find a package sent from another state. It was quite large and would be hard to miss. It was sent to our post office box; but even then it took THREE trips, and over 90 minutes standing in line for the attendant to find it. The postal worker was quite rude when I asked her what had happened. He replied "You have it now and that's all the matters." Not even an I'm sorry.

My address is on Macquarie St. It is a long street and there many are stores and shops. There are also a lot of small obscure streets off Macquarie St. Generally couriers seem to have a hard time finding my house to make deliveries to me. I am always extremely careful to write my street name, and I now mention the Furniture store opposite my house so it will be easy to find. We even include a phone number on the post cover. At Christmas time, I was expecting a package to arrive any day. It was just before Christmas, and I was hoping it would get here on time. I was pretty excited to see the large white van pull in my drive and come to my door with my package. Then I noticed the courier was caring a large box with a much smaller box on top of it. I knew the big one wasn't what I was waiting for. The delivery person couldn't even be bothered to set it down so that he could carefully put my small box in front of my door. He just walked over and let it slide off of the larger box. I don't think he knows that I was watching through my sliding glass door...

I have problems with couriers because they never deliver to my home. I had two boxes of items that were supposed to be delivered. I only received one box from the same supplier. After calling the courier office, they mentioned that they had already delivered it correctly. I insisted that they check the warehouse. After few minutes of waiting, I was told that there was one box left in their office. They told me that they would not make an immediate delivery, and said it would be delivered the next day even when I said I would not be home because I had to work.

Once I had a problem with courier service due to delay. The invitation card of my cousins marriage was delivered too late! There is a problem with Australia Post offices as I have noticed that they routinely attempt to subscribe me to junk mail through my post office box, requiring me to opt-out of their marketing campaigns. The post office is extremely confusing with certain weights and size limitations for different categories of packages. I wish there was a better way to categorize packages and to make sending them easier. For international packages it is terribly expensive and for first-class there is no delivery confirmation option, so there's no way to know if your package has actually arrived at its destination or not. Recently, I was faced with a problem where I sent a parcel to my sister using express overnight delivery and told her to be ready for it. After waiting 11 days, she called me to inform me that the contents of the parcel were broken. 

Once my Uncle sent me some books from Bathurst with a courier. I had needed them for some reference work. They were needed on an urgent basis, so I had asked him to courier them overnight. The couriers code and the number was given, and they had promised to deliver to me at home in Newcastle the next day. I waited all day at home but there was no delivery. Later after calling the courier company to complain the books were delivered on the third day. If only the courier had informed us that there was going to be a delay which he never stated at the time of accepting it. 

We sent one big glass framed photo to one of our friends abroad. After receiving the parcel our friend found that the frame was completely broken. The price of the frame was more than $200 and to mend the repair in the other country would be hard as the friend had to search to find the right person to fit a new frame. The above was the personal problem encountered by us from the courier business. 

Private couriers like FedEx and UPS should have a low rate to send lightweight packages (like letters) in several days. That rate should rival the post office, so we can get rid of it and privatize the system. The couriers are very slow to reach the destination, and they take a lot of time to reach. I have also faced a lot of problems related to couriers, sometimes couriers take a lot time to reach at my place, and often they are not in the proper state when they reach at my place. It seems that the couriers are not paid well or motivated enough to do their job well, since in some cases I've seen that they treat packages with no care. 

Has anyone had problems with Fastway courier? I placed an online order for a LCD monitor on Thursday and was told by the supplier that the item was picked up by a Fastway courier in Sydney on Friday and I should receive the monitor on Saturday or at the latest on Monday. I waited a week and no delivery. I rang Fastway up and was told they are searching for the missing item.

I had an antique mirror expertly packed and shipped. When it was received, I could hear glass shards moving and the rest of the mirror was as bad. Although it was insured and I eventually was paid for it, which took a great deal of time, I would have preferred the mirror.

 Post office at Christmas time... only one word describes it. "HELL"!!! Three trips to find a package sent from another state. It was quite large and would be hard to miss. It was sent to our post office box but it took THREE trips, over 90 minutes standing in line and a call from the sending post office to find it. The postal worker was quite rude when I asked her what had happened. "you have it now and that's all the matters." Not even an I'm sorry.

  Ya there was some problem i undergone due to couriers. My address contains street name as pullalakottai road. So in our street there are fully stores and shops nearly bus stand. There are lot of small and small streets. So the courier boy had a problem to find my address. After that i wrote my street name and i have mentioned Puvanesh Furniture Opposite.Then it will be easy i feel. When we write Phone number in post cover means then it will be most helpful to find the address.

 I was expecting a package to arrive any day. It was right before Christmas and I was hoping it would get here on time. I was quite excited to see the big white truck pull in my drive and come to my door with my package. Then I noticed the courrier was carring a large box with a much smaller box on top of it. I knew the large box wasn't what I was waiting for but I wasn't sure if it was for me or not. As it turns out, the large box was not for me and in fact, the delivery person couldn't even be bothered to set it down to carefully place my small box in front of my door. He simply walked over and let it slide off of the larger box. I don't think he knows that I was watching through my sliding glass door....

I have problems with courier because delivery shortage. I have 2 box of items suppose to be delivered, but actual receive only 1 box. after calling, the courier office mentions already delivered correctly. after few times check and query, finally they say still have 1 box left in their office. and they do not event make immediate delivery, and mention to be delivery only next day. To improve, I think they need to have record of boxes received and boxes delivered.

There is lot of Problem with courier Businesses because there is a threat of leaking our personal belonging.Not only that some time we may lose our belonging which pays very much importance to our life.Once i had i Problem with delay courier service as the invitation card of my cousin marriage is delivered too late. There is a Problem with post office also as we may write our personnel information to our relatives which is very important and that could leak to any unknown person who may miss use.

The post office is very confusing with certain weights and size limitations for different categories of packages. I wish there was a better for broader way to categorize packages and to make sending them easier. Also for international packages is very expensive and for first-class international there is no delivery confirmation option, so there's no way to know if your package has actually arrive to its destination or not...

 Recently i have faced with a problem that i have couriered a parcel to my sister and informed her the Courier company's name and their local office phone No. and the docket No. too. But in pain, i am telling the problem all i had gone through that the courier reached after 11 days with broken condition and that was an importance document of mine. Actually this document was supposed to get my sister within 2 days but the same one she received after 11 days. At last i could understand that the problem was that the courier people have sent the documents to the wrong route. After so much of spending money and trouble at last she could receive the thing. thank god.

Once my Uncle sent me some books from Mumbai with the courier. I had needed them for some reference work .They were needed on urgent basis so I had asked him to courier.The couriers code and number was given and they had promised to deliver at Kochi the next day. We waited for One day but there was no answer.Later after much shouting the books were delivered on the third day.If only the courier had informed us that there will be a flight delay which he never stated at the time of accepting it.

 We couriered one big glass framed Photo to one of our friend in the abroad. After receiving the parcel our friend found that the frame was completely broken. The packing towards the glass surface was not done properly. The worth of the frame was more than Rs.50,000/- and to mend the repair over there would have created some more expenses as well as a great search to find the right person to fit a new frame again. The above was the personal problem encountered by us from the courier business.

As a courier, you're going to be asked to pick up and drop off items at a variety of locations around town, many of which you've probably never been to. Maps can help, but are generally difficult and unsafe to use in traffic. You don't want to be sitting in your car, trying to figure out how to get to where you need to be. There's a product that can do that for you, a GPS unit. GPS units are becoming more and more affordable. They're simply a great and easy way to make sure you never get lost again.

Private couriers like FedEx and UPS should have a low rate to send lightweight packages (like letters) in several days. That rate should rival the post office, so we can get rid of it and privatize the system.

The couriers are very slow to reach the destination,and they take a lot of time to reach.I have also faced a lot of problems related to couriers,sometimes the couriers take a lot time to reach at my place,and sometimes they are not in the proper state when they reach at my place.

It seems that the couriers are not paid enough or motivated enough to do their job well, since in some cases I've seen that they treat packages with no care.

Have anyone had problems with Fastway courier? I placed an online order{a LCD monitor} from It Estate on the 5\6\06 and was told by the supplier that the item was picked up by a Fastway courier in Sydney on the 6\6\07 and i should receive the monitor on the 7\6\06,so far no delivery ,I rang Fastway up today and was told they are still searching for the missing item,meanwhile i paid $624 for a monitor that i havent received.I bought most of my pc gear online and i usually received my goods overnight or 2 days maximum Have any other readers have similiar problems ? How can i recover my money back if i never recieve the monitor that i paid for? I even email the Fastway Customer Service Manager but didnt get a reply from him. James from IT Estate have been helpful,hoping to sort this problem out Asap.How can i recover my money back if i never recieve the monitor that i paid for? I even email the Fastway Customer Service Manager but didnt get a reply from him. James from IT Estate have been helpful,hoping to sort this problem out Asap

  soemtimes these courier people do favour or those who are regular members of them , once I need to send a parcel to one of cousin and it was abroad so , there was limited space and some other customers were also wanted the same as the great festival was approaching , they told me to wait for sometime , they checked in their list whether there was any regular customer among us , and they gave them the chance to send their gifts , and unfortunately I need to go to some other courier service , to let my parcel finally sent , this actually wasted a lot of time.

Today marks the end of the first day of the first UOW Service Symposium, and excellent day of discussing the future of service research in Australia. This of course followed on from the PRIMA2011 conference last week that I had the privilege of helping out with. Next week we begin the CRC for Smart Service annual conference and following that I'll be heading to stunning Cyprus for ICSOC2011 to present my article on Strategic Process Alignment at the WESOA workshop.
And then... I can rest, after a quick stop off in Brisbane and Canberra.

Though, already my mind is full of ideas for new and exciting research that I will be posting here over the coming weeks.

Watch this space. It's about to get exciting up in here, just as soon as I finish conference season.

So for the last week I've been putting the final touches on the WESOA workshop submission title: Strategic Alignment of Business Processes. At the same time I was able to meet a lovely new research student at UOW from IBM Australia.

In terms of development, the project page has been moved to a new textSeer part of this website with a development blog that will be seperate from this one.

I've also been working on a model that describes all of the BPM@DSL that happens across the guys in the lab and hopefully mean that it will be easier position future work in a meaningful part of that space.

As of late I've been working hard on TextSeer development, having just been given the source of ProcessSeer, my job now is to find a way to merge the two projects.

Step 1 is complete, at the beginning the development of TextSeer began with a generalized object metamodel for working with the internal BPMN state; however, the design has hit a snag with the switch from the Prover9 reasoner to a built in Java Solver using different effect formats.

Step 2 is now the arduous task of finding what else has changed so that I can come up with a strategy to finish the merge in a reasonable amount of time.

It should come as no surprise that TextSeer is cross platform (after all, all of it's components are cross platform). 

I have also been making sure that the sequential and parallel processing functions have been working (turns out the parallel function needs a little work). Below you can see consistent processes joined together.